Image: John Galliano, ensemble, spring/summer 1992, England, museum purchase. 2017.80.2
Paris, Capital of FashionSpecial Exhibitions GallerySeptember 6, 2019 – January 4, 2020
Online Exhibition
Paris, Capital of Fashion explored how and why Paris became the international capital of fashion. It featured
approximately 75 fashion ensembles, dating from the 18th century to the present, as
well as accessories. Curated by Dr. Valerie Steele, director of The Museum at FIT,
this major exhibition was accompanied by a book and symposium.
The introductory gallery placed Paris within the global fashion system. After the
Second World War, Paris was repeatedly challenged by new fashion centers, such as
London, Milan, and New York. The first section of the main gallery focused on the
rise of the Paris fashion system in the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
The court at Versailles was the official epicenter of fashion, but fashion professionals
were based in the city of Paris and foreign visitors were amazed by the Parisian “mania”
for fashion. The second section explored the growth of the Paris fashion system with
its many métiers de la mode and its increased focus on feminine fashion. Particular
attention was paid to the development of the haute couture, which transformed dressmaking
from a small-scale artisanal craft into big business and high art. Today, globalization
and technology have transformed the world of fashion. Yet Paris remains a unique fashion
city.
Image: #DESIGN, Gallery FIT
#DESIGNGallery FITNovember 19 – December 14, 2019
We are living through a fundamental workforce transformation during which digital
technology has begun to alter the skills companies are searching for. Inspired by
FIT President Dr. Brown’s Workforce of the Future initiative, FIT’s Advertising &
Digital Design (A&DD) BFA, Creative Technology & Design (CT&D) subject area, and Center
for Continuing and Professional Studies (CCPS), worked closely with our industry partners
to create a series of specialized credit courses and noncredit certificate programs
that are career-driven and forward-thinking. In addition, CT&D also initiated a wide
range of Guided Experiential Learning (GEL) projects and career development events
in collaboration with some of the most well-known companies and brands in the world.
To celebrate the 8-year anniversary of the CT&D subject area, this year's annual exhibition, #DESIGN, showcased some of the most exciting industry collaboration projects and award-winning
design projects. CT&D's mission is to initiate a transformative journey for creatives
worldwide so they can enter some of the most rewarding careers in the age of digital
media. We believe designers are innovators, activists, and visionaries, and our goal
is to nurture the next generation creative workforce that will design digital content,
products, platforms, experiences, and other solutions that leverage technology to
solve business problems and to improve people’s lives. We believe the year of 2020
will be the beginning of an exciting new phase of our Creative Workforce of the Future
initiative.
Image: Agatha Ruiz de la Prada, dress, spring/summer 2014, Madrid, gift of Agatha Ruiz de
la Prada. 2014.44.1
Minimalism/MaximalismFashion & Textile History GalleryMay 28 – November 16, 2019
Online ExhibitionFashion is a world of extremes, where sartorial expression ranges from minimalist
to maximalist aesthetics. Some designers may identify almost exclusively with one
over the other; Calvin Klein, for instance, was known for fashion minimalism. However,
the cyclical nature of fashion moves us through design periods alternately dominated
by a minimalist or maximalist aesthetic, re-affirming Isaac Newton’s third law of
motion: for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
In fashion, minimalism and maximalism define two extremes along the design spectrum.
Minimalism, the aesthetic of less-is-more, is based on a reductive approach to design,
and celebrates purity and restraint. Maximalism, on the other hand, accentuates the
beauty of excess and redundancy. While these may be considered aesthetic opposites,
both seek to challenge perception, and as forms of expression, they serve as indicators
of the sociocultural and economic zeitgeist of the given time period. Minimalism/Maximalism explored the interplay between minimalist and maximalist aesthetics as they have
been and continue to be expressed through fashion. Beginning in the eighteenth century,
the exhibition examined how these aesthetic viewpoints were expressed over time and
moved fashion forward.
Read more about Minimalism/Maximalism.
ReflectionsGallery FITSeptember 14 – October 26, 2019
Reflections was an exhibition featuring work by ten student artists from the Photography and Fine
Arts departments of FIT’s School of Art and Design. Under the guidance of Professor
Curtis Willocks, the students put together an exhibition of photography, drawing,
and mixed media collage. Reflections offered the visitor a look at artistic explorations and interpretations of summertime
thoughts and experiences.
